Page 104 of When You Blush

I’ve been here for twenty minutes, and he still hasn’t told me what he needs help with.

I suspect he just wanted to have coffee.

“What’s her name?”

I lift a brow. “Billie didn’t tell you her name?”

Dad smirks. We all know who the gossip in our family is. “I want to know more about her fromyou.Better yet, I’d like to meet her myself.”

“I’ll bring her to the next family dinner.” I sip my water. I’ve already had too much coffee today. “Her name is Harper. She’s from Silver Springs, and she’s a NICU nurse.”

“Works with babies.”

That’s an incredibly simple way to say that Harper takes care of extremely tiny, medically fragile preemies and is honestly a fucking badass for being able to do her job, but I leave it at that.

“She does. If you and Mom had come up to the resort last week, you would have spent time with her. It was fun.”

“We wanted to leave that for you kids,” Dad replies, shaking his head. “I’m glad you had a good time.”

“Dad, you know I always love seeing you, but what did you need help with this morning?”

“Got somewhere else you need to be, son?” Dad smiles, taking any sting out of the question. He’s a smart man, and he’s always been a gentle one.

“I have a little time,” I reply. “But you said you needed help.”

“I lied.” He watches me for a few seconds and blows out a breath. “I haven’t seen my boy in weeks, and I miss you. I thought we could have coffee together. If I tell you I need help, you won’t turn me down.”

“Dad, I won’t turn you down either way. Don’t do the whole crying wolf thing on me.”

“I don’t think you’ve had a girlfriend since high school.”

I frown at my father. “Really? You want to talk about mylove life? Do you have a fever?”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “No fever. A burning curiosity, sure. Because you’ve been so focused on your goals and your work that you’ve never let a woman in. So what’s so special about this one? I want to know what’s going on with you, kiddo.”

“You’re as nosy as Billie.” I shake my head and sip my water. “She’s just different. I took one look at her, and it was like I recognized her on a molecular level. Like something inside me saidOh, there you are.I know that everyone gives me shit because I don’t see a woman more than once, and I never get attached, but I think I was waiting for her all this time, and I didn’t even know it.”

I look up into eyes so much like mine. He’s listening intently, and if I’m not mistaken, his eyes have gone glassy.

“You love her.”

“Fuck yeah, I love her.” I nod and tap the table with my fingertips. “I’m crazy about her. I’d marry her today. She’s it for me.”

“Good for you, buddy. I can’t wait to meet her. The next time you have a Sunday off, we’ll do dinner. Now, you need to leave. I have shit to do today.”

I laugh and stand, then pull him in for a hug. “You seriously wanted to gossip about my girl.”

“I’m sick of getting it secondhand from your sister. I wanted it from the horse’s mouth. I love you, Blake. I’m glad you found your person.”

My person.

Yeah, that’s exactly what she is.

I have a short shift at the clinic this afternoon, and I finally get a few hours with my girl this evening. We agreed that she’d stay the night since we’ll be going to work at around the same time tomorrow morning.

I have to savor the hours with her when I can.

The chaos in my work life is why I’ve always shied away from looking for a relationship. Add inherchaotic schedule, and spending much time together has been almost impossible. Since last week's few amazing days at the resort, we’ve been back to stealing moments here and there. Tonight will be the first night we get to spend together since last week.